Thawing device



Sept. 26, 1933. F. E. RICHARDSON THAWING DEVICE Filed Jan. 15, 1935 Patented Sept. 26, 1933 THAWING DEVICE Frank E. Richardson, Kansas City, Mo., assignor 4 ;to Great Lakes Pipe Line Company, Kansas City, Mo., a corporation of Delaware Application January 13,

3 Claims.

My invention relates to improvements in tank cars and more particularly to a tank car attachment adapted to be used for thawing out ice formed in the outlet leg of a tank car.

Very frequentlywater will accumulate in a tank car previous to loading or will separate from emulsification with oil and gather in the outlet leg ofthetank car. In cold weather, the water will freeze and prevent the tank car from being drained. I

It has been suggested to supply the outlet leg of a tank car and the bottom of the car with a steam pipe which can be attached to a source of steam to permit the ice to be thawed. The disadvantage of this procedure is that it necessitates the presence of a source of steam either from a donkey boiler or the like, together with piping.

One object of my invention is to provide a handy steam generator which may be attached 1 we tank car quickly and expeditiously to thaw out the ice which accumulates in the outlet leg.

Another object of my invention is to provide a steam generator which may be used independently of a source of steam.

Another object of my invention is to provide a steam generator in which the steam is generated electrically.

Further objects of my invention will appear from the following description.

In the accompanying drawing which forms part of the instant specification and which is to be read in conjunction therewith and in which like reference numerals are used to indicate like parts in the various views: 35 Figure 1 shows a side elevation of a tank car equipped with a generator of my invention.

Figure 2 is a sectional view of my steam generator. v Figure 3 is a sectional view of my steam generator taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a sectional view of my steam generator.

Figure 5 is an enlarged sectional view of a de- 45 tail taken on the line 5--5 of Figure 4.

A boiler flange 1 is welded or secured in any suitable manner to a length of seamless pipe 2 which, together with a bottom plate 3 forms the boiler shell.. Secured in the bottom plate in any suitable manner are a number of immersion heaters 4 as can readily be seen by reference to Figures 2, 8, and 4. These immersion heaters are connected to a source of electricity through cable 5. The boiler shell is covered by a block of 55 .heat insulating material such as magnesium or the like, 6. The insulating material is held in 1933. Serial No. 651,518

place by a casing 7. Secured to the flange 1 is a coupling member or adapter 8 which is provided with a coupling 9 for attachment to the tank car outlet leg 10. A mesh screen 11 is provided to prevent foreign matter from the tank car from dropping into the interior of the boiler shell. A removable bottom plate 12 protects theexposed connection studs 13 of. the heater elements 4. The bottom plate 12 is secured to the flange 14 of the boiler shell. A suitable gasket 15 is fitted to make a tight joint. A thermostatic control element 16 is secured to the bottom plate in one of the openings therein. Supported adjacent one of the heating elements is a thermostatic control bulb 17 which is connected to the control element 16 by means of a thermo-siphon tube 18. Suitably secured to the side of the generator is a pipe 19 which terminates in a T 20. Fastened to one end of the T is a safety or relief Valve 21 and, to the other end of the T, a globe Valve 22. The pipe 19, it is to be noted, enters the side of the boiler shell just above the level of the water 23 therein. Suitable handles 24 provided with fibre handle members 25 are secured to the generator to enable it to be transported readily. The heating elements are conventional and are shown in section in Figure 5.

The control apparatus consists of a vapor proof contact member which has attached to it a push button switch and a signal light. The line side of the disconnecting switch is connected to a single phase alternating current source. The load side of the disconnecting switch is connected to the contactor. The load side of the contactor is connected to a bus-bar from which the heating elements may be connected. The generator is grounded by means of contactor 26. The other bus-bar is also grounded so that the circuit through the heating elements will be through the metal of my generator. It is to be understood, of course, that the heating elements may be connected in parallel, or in series as shown in Figure 2 and that any suitable electrical connecting switch may be employed.

In operation, a loading rack attendant will remove the cap from the bottom of the tank car leg. The steam generator will be filled with water. The valve 22 may be opened to insure that the water level is not too high. The device is then coupled to the tank car leg 10 by means of coupling 9. The end of cable 5 is then plugged into any suitable electrical outlet. It will be obvious that this cable is more conveniently handled than steam pipes. The control contactor element of control device 16 will be closed and the heating sub combinations.

elements 4 will be energized. The control element is set to operate at a predetermined temperature of approximately 270 F. When this temperature is passed, the expansion of the liquid in the thermo-siphon will operate to open the contact switch within the control device 16. In the event'the thawing is not sufficiently rapid, and pressure is built up within the generator, the relief valve 21 will operate to relieve the pressure. After thawing, the excess water which comes from the tank car is drained by opening valve 22. The

screen 11 prevents damage to the heatingelements from falling ice, foreign matter and the like. After the tank leg has been drained;the device is removed and maybeemployed on another tank car.

The advantages of my device will be apparent from the foregoing description. I am enabled to thaw frozen tank car legs in an expeditious and convenient manner without the necessity of using cumbersome steam leads with the attendant delay: In view of the fact that it is a simple expedient to obtain an electric cable of any desired length, I may thaw frozen tank car legs without the necessity of moving the car for coupling to a source-ofsteam.

It will be understood that certain features and sub-combinations are of utility and may be emplayed without reference to other features and This is contemplated by and is within the scope'of my claims. It is further obvious that various changes may be made in details within the scope of my claims without departing from the spirit of my invention. It is, therefore, to be understood that my invention is not to be limited to the specific details shown and described.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In combination with a tank car leg, a shell containing water, means coupling said shell with said leg, electric heating elements within said shell adapted to boil water to form steam, a source of electric potential connected with said heating element and means responsive to temperature for controlling the electric potential.

2. A- tank car thawing device comprising in combination a shell, a steam outlet pipe for said shell, means for coupling said outlet pipe to the outlet leg-of a tank car, a second pipe communicating with the interior of said shell, a drain valve connected to said pipe and a pressure relief connected to said pipe.

3. A tank car thawing device comprising incombination a shell containing water, a steam" outlet pipe for said shell, an electrical heating ele- 109 ment within said shell adapted to boil said waterto' form steam, means for coupling said steam outlet device to a tank car leg, and a screen positioned between said tank car leg and said steam'outlet" pipe FRANK E.RICHARDSQ'N. 

